Machine for forming folded paper towels



5 Sheets-Sheet l L. H. MORIN April 2, 1957 MACHINE FOR FORMING FOLDED PAPER TOWELS Filed Dec. 9, 1953 INVENTOR LOUIS H, MORIN ATTORNE April 2, 1957 H. MORIN MACHINE FOR FORMING FOLDED PAPER TOWELS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 9. 1953 INVENTOR LOUIS H. MORIN ATTORNEY April 2, 1957 1.. H. MORIN MACHINE FOR FORMING FOLDED PAPER TOWELS 5 Sheeis-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 9. 1953 I m N I. E R T N N0 W m T m H M 6 U o L Kr, lllil L. H. MORIN MACHINE FOR FORMING FOLDED PAPER TOWELS A ril 2, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 9. 195a INVENTQR LOUIS H. MORIN ATTORNEY April 2, 1957 L. H. MORIN MACHINE FOR FORMING FOLDED PAPER TOWELS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 9. 1953 INVENTOB LOUIS H. MORIN ATTOR EY United States Patent Oflice 2,787,462 Patented Apr. 2, 1957 MACHINE F OR FORMING FOLDED PAPER TOWELS Louis H. Morin, Bronx, N. Y., assignor to West Disinfecting Company, Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 9, 1953, Serial No. 397,244

22 Claims. (Cl. 270-79) This invention relates to machines for producing folded paper towels and similarly folded sheets. More particularly, the invention deals with a machine and method, wherein folded paper towels are produced in predetermined stacks or piles, with means indicating separation between the stacks or piles to facilitate removal for packaging or other purposes. Still more particularly, the invention deals with a machine, wherein a worksheet is automatically fed from a roll into the machine and through forming rolls for slitting the sheet preparatory to passage of the sheet into automatic folding mechanism for folding the sheets and collecting the same in a long stack or pile, preparatory for removal from the machine.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal diagrammatic side and sectional view of a machine made according to my invention illustrating the general arrangement of the operative mechanism of the machine, but omitting many detailed structures thereof.

Fig. la is a side view of a roll of paper illustrating the support thereof, which roll is supported to the left side of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 2 and 3 are related diagrammatic perspective views of the operative mechanisms of the machine, omitting supporting frames and with parts of the construction broken away.

Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive, are sectional detailed views of parts of the folding mechanism of the machine, illustrating successive steps of operation of the folding mechanism in a complete cycle of operation.

Fig. 11 is a perspective detailed view showing the stacking of folded paper towels and indicating the method of separating the stacks one from the other.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged detailed view, similar to that shown in Fig. 1, illustrating a worksheet slitting mechanism for dividing a worksheet longitudinally into two or more strips; and

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional detailed view of the worksheet feeding and shaping rolls which I employ.

In the accompanying drawings, the paper towel folding machine has been more or less diagrammatically shown in the several views and detailed only to such extent as to clearly illustrate the important mechanisms of the machine contributing to the feed, forming and folding of a worksheet in forming folded paper towels in stacks, as more clearly hereinafter set forth. The purpose of this method of illustration is to simplify the showing and to eliminate extensive drawings on details of construction which are, for the most part, simple mechanical expedients well known to those skilled in the art. However, in Figs. 1 and 1a is shown a side and sectional view generally positioning the mechanisms of the machine in substantially their proper relationship in order to portray the general picture of the machine; whereas, the associated respective views, Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing, clearly illustrate the operative mechanisms of the machine and, in these figures, most of the sup porting frame structures are omitted in order to clarify the illustrations. On the other hand, the more important folding mechanism of the machine is clearly shown in detail in Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive, in various stages of a complete cycle of operation in portraying the folding of the sheet to form the stacks or, in other words, groups of a predetermined member of folded paper towels, as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 11 of the drawing.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, represents a drive motor for driving a shaft 21 supported in the frame 22 of the machine through a belt or other drive, diagrammatically indicated at 23. At 23 is indicated a suitable clutching mechanism for putting the machine into operation.

On the shaft 21 is a gear 24 meshing with a large gear 25 on a cam shaft 26 of the machine. On the shaft 26 are two cams having grooved surfaces 27, 28, 29 and 30. As noted in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the grooves of the surfaces 27 and are front surfaces, in which the grooves are shown; whereas, 28 and 29 are rear surfaces, in which the grooves of said cams do not show, but here the detailed structure of the cams is unimportant, except in realizing that the grooves are of such structure and arrangement as to perform the operations through the several levers employed and as later described. Also on said shaft 26 is a sprocket 31. Passed around the sprocket 31 is a chain 32, which passes around another sprocket 33 on a driven shaft 34. This drive is a oneto-one drive. On the shaft 34 is a gear 35 which meshes with two gears 36, 37 on idler shafts 38, 39, respectively, supported in the frame 22.

Meshing with the gears 36 and 37 are gears 40, 41 on shafts 42 and 43, respectively. Arranged above and spaced from the shafts 34 and 43, respectively are shafts 44 and 45. Mounted on the shaft 34 is a feed roller 46 and on the shaft 44 is a companion feed roller 47. On the shaft 43 is arranged an anvil roller 48 and on the shaft is a knife roller 49. At one side of the rollers 48 and 49 are a pair of guide or idler rollers 50 supported on a lever 50'.

At 51 is shown a shaft, on which a roll of paper 52 is mounted for delivery to the rollers 46, 47, 48 and 49, inclusive. When the machine is utilized for slitting the paper 52, in accordance with the modified showing of Fig. 12, the paper first passes over a slitting roller 53 and beneath a slitting knife 54, as will clearly appear from a consideration of Fig. 12 of the drawing.

Pivoted on a shaft 55 in the frame 22 is a carriage actuating lever 56. Also fixed to the shaft 55 is a cam follower 57 which operates in a cam groove on the cam surface 30, as clearly noted in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

At 58 I have shown another shaft mounted in the frame 22, on one end of which are mounted three levers, namely the folding guide actuating lever 59, a top and bottom anvil actuating lever 60 and a bottom gripper actuating lever 61.

Another duplicate set of levers 59, 60 and 61 are arranged at the other end of the shaft 58, as clearly noted in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The last named lever 60 operates the upper gripper whereas the lever 61 operates the lower anvil 69, the levers 59 being fixed to the shaft 58 and are actuated in the rotation of said shaft. Also fixed to this shaft is a cam follower 59' operating upon a cam groove on the surface 29, as indi cated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The other levers 60, 61 are rotatable upon the shaft 58 and both pairs of these levers have cam followers and 61', the followers of one pair of levers operating in cam grooves on the surface 27; whereas, the followers of the other pair of levers operate in corresponding cam grooves on the surface 28, the latter being clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Supported in suitable bearings in the frame 22 is a rod 62, at the lower end of which is a link 63 pivoted to the lever 56, as seen at 64.

Pivoted to the upper end of the rod 62 and movable therewith is a carriage 65. Supported on the carriage 65 are two hold-down slides 66 and 67, note Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive. Arranged at vertically spaced intervals in the frame 22 or the extension 22a thereof are upper and lower anvil shafts 68 and 69. On these shafts are supported anvils 68 and 69', as well as grippers 70, 71, respectively, note Figs. 4, 7 and 10. The anvils 68' and 69 are in the form of frames, as noted in Fig. 3 of the drawing, and one end of each of these frames includes a lever portion, as at 72 on the anvil 68 and at 73 on the anvil 69'. The grippers and 71 are fixed to the shafts 68 and 69 and also fixed to said shafts are arms 70', 71', also as clearly noted in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

At 74 I have shown a connecting rod coupling the first lever 60 with the lever portion 72 of anvil 68' and at 75 I have shown a connecting rod coupling the lever portion 73 of the anvil 69 with the second lever 61.

Pivoted in the carriage 65 are gear segments 76 with which are coupled connecting rods 76' which are pivoted to the levers 59 and clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The segments 76 are adapted to actuate pinions 77 on the shaft, to which are secured folding guide arms 78, one of which is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The arms 78 support a pair of folding guide rolls 79.

Also mounted on the arms 78 are a pair of guide knives 80. The knives have cutouts, as seen at 81, to receive the grippers 70 and 71 in the operation, as later described.

It will be apparent that the mechanism of the machine is arranged upon a base 82, as noted in Fig. 1, and arranged upon suitable standards 83 at the right end of the base is a receiving table 84, on which the formed towels are stacked, the towels being supported by a backing plate 85 movable longitudinally of the table and tensionally controlled through a weight 86 operating upon an inclined track or runway 87. A chain 88 is coupled with the backing plate 85 and passes around a sprocket 89 on a shaft 90 and is coupled with the weight 86 through a yoke-shaped link 91.

It will be apparent that the plate 85 maintains the towels in perpendicular position and facilitates the feed delivery of the towels from left to right over the table 84, the plate 85, as well as the weight 86, being shown in the fully extended positions in Fig. l of the drawing. In said figure, the stacked towels are indicated at 92, part only of the towels being shown.

It will be understood that the machine may be utilized to feed relatively wide sheets of paper into the machine and a plurality of the knives 54 can be utilized to slit the paper into workpiece widths and each of the towels or workpieces will be formed and stacked in the same manner and, in order to simplify the present illustration, a single towel unit machine is shown. It will, of course, be apparent that the width of the various rollers 46, 47, 48 and 49, including the roller 53 and the rollers 50, will compensate for the width of the sheet of paper fed into the machine.

Mounted in the periphery of the roller 46 is an embossing anvil 93 and, registering with the anvil 93, the roller 47 has an embossing punch 94. In this connection, it will be apparent that the roller 47 is driven in synchronism with the roller 46 by a gear 35 meshing with the gear 35. In the same manner, the roller 49 operates in synchronism with the roller 48 by a gear 41' meshing with the gear 41, note Fig. 2.

The embossing punch 94 forms, adjacent the top fold of each towel, a suitable trade name, as for example the name West, as indicated diagrammatically at 95 in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

Mounted in the periphery of the roller 48 is an anvil 96. Mounted in the roller 49 and in registering alinement with the anvil 96 is a knife 97, the knife being adapted to form a series of elongated slits or cuts 98, diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

At predetermined intervals in the formation and stacking of the towels 92, one sheet will have an upstanding flap, or flag portion 99, arranged thereon for the purpose of grouping a predetermined number of the towels to facilitate packaging in removal from the table 84 and in the manner diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. ll of the drawing. in which figure, one group or stack of towels is being separated from the other stacks, an operator being guided in this separation by the flags 99. It will be understood that the flag portions 99 are formed in the operation of forming the slits 98 by the knife 97.

Normally, the roller 49 is slightly spaced with respect to the sheet 52 passed between the same and the roller 48, the shaft 45 of the roller 49 being mounted in boxes. one of which is shown at 100 in Fig. 2 of the drawing. it will be understood that a similar box 100 is at the other end of the shaft 45. These two boxes are actuated through the medium of air cylinders and, at 101, I have shown the shaft or stem of one cylinder 102. the cylinder being suitably mounted in the frame of the nutchine. When the cylinders are actuated by the timely introduction of air undcr pressure into the cylinder, this will serve to actuate the shafts or stems 101 to force the boxes 100 downwardly, so as to cause the knife 97 in the roller 49 to operate in conjunction with the anvil 96 in cutting or slitting the paper at the predetermined and required in tcrvals. This operation also forms the cutouts for the flaps or flags 99.

The operation of controlling the length of folded towels or, in other words, position of the group of folded towels between the flags 99 is controlled through the medium of an adjustable mechanism comprising a control chain 103 having positioned thereon one or more operating lugs 1.04. At 105 is disposed a small cam on the shaft 43 which actuates an air valve 106.

The valve 106 works in conjunction with bypass valves 107 and 108, note Fig. 2, which are, in turn, actuated by the lugs 104 on the chain 103. In other words, when the valves 107 and 108 are tripped by the lug 104, it will permit air from the valve 106 to bypass air valves 107 and 108 in their proper timed sequence for producing the following operations.

The valve 107 controls operation of the cutter knife 97 through cylinders 102; whereas. the valve I68 will control operation of an air cylinder 109 to control position of a plunger 110 of the cylinder with respect to an adjustable pin 111 on a link 112 mounted on the end of lever 56. This latter control allows the lever 56 to move a greater degree or, in other words, upwardly an addi tional. amount in order to sever the sheet, where the cut 98 are located therein. In this operation, the flags 9! are left in raised position, as will be more fully hereinafter described.

The operation of folding towels with my improved machine or apparatus will be apparent from the diagram matic showings in Figs. l to 3, inclusive, and the more detailed showings of various stages of folding towels us will appear in Figs. 4 to l0, inclusive.

It will be apparent that paper 52 from the roll, it". noted in Fig. la of the drawing, first passes thrruigh the feeding and forming mechanism. comprising the rollers 46, 47. 48, 49 and 50. as well as the cutter 54. when the latter is employed and. from this mechanism, the sheet. in its slit and embossed form, with the name 95 appearing thereon, enters the folding mechanism.

Now referring to Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive. and starting with the folding mechanism in the position shown in Fig. 4, in other words, with the carriage 65 in the raised position, and the rollers 79 and blades 80 having completed the upward feed of the paper 52, the carriage then proceeds to move downwardly, at the beginning of which operation the levers 59 are operated to actuate the folding guide mechanism 79, 80 from a position shown in Fig. 4 to a position similar to that shown in Fig. 5 with the upper edge portion of the paper held upon the anvil 68'. Then, as the carriage continues to move downwardly, the lever 61 is actuated for operating the upper gripper 70 to move the same into the position shown in Fig. 6 to grip the upper folded edge 52 of the paper at such timed interval as to maintain a constant predetermined top fold in the resulting stack 92, as noted in Fig. ll.

At this time, it will be well to note that the lower folded edge portions 52" of the paper, on the resulting towels, are held in position by the lower gripper 71. holding the previously formed fold against the anvil 69', as noted at the lower portion of Fig. 4 of the drawing. It is also pointed out at this time that, in the upward and downward movement of the carriage 65, the hold-down slides 66 and 67 work. over the surface of the paper towels and constantly urge them in the direction of the yieldable backing 85. Accordingly, it will be understood that the illustrations of spacings in Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive, are diagrammatic for solo: of clarity for the reason that, in reality, the stacked towels are actually in snug engagement with each other and held so by the yieldable backing 85. The cutouts 81 in the knives or blades serve to admit the grippers 70, 71 to engage the folds of the sheet, while the folds of the sheet are still held upon the respective anvils 68, 69'.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing, the folding guide, comprising the roll 79 and knives or blades 80, is shown in the advanced position to sever the slit portion of the sheet, as at 113, which operation of said folding guide is accomplished through the added movement of the lever 56 controlled by the plunger 110, as previously described. It will, thus, be apparent that, as the sheet 52 is moved downwardly by the folding guide mechanism, the flag or flap 99 will remain in a vertical position and the severed upper edge of the sheet will be gripped by the gripper 70. as will be apparent.

Turning now to Fig. 7 of the drawing, it will be noted that, as the carriage 65 proceeds to move downwardly, the appropriate levers are actuated to move the anvil 69 as well as the gripper 71 into the position shown in said figure, allowing the last bottom fold of the sheet to move behind the anvil by the hold-down slide 67, after which, the anvil 69 returns to its normal backing position, as noted in Fig. 8 of the drawing, prior to movement of the folding guide thereover.

After the folding guide has reached the limit of its downward movement, the guide is reversed through the mechanisms previously described to bring the same into the position shown in Fig. 9 of. the drawing and, at this instance, the gripper It is moved into operative position to engage the lower told 52" of the sheet; whereupon, the folding guide continues its upward movement in the manner illustrated in Fig. 10 of the drawing.

In this last cycle of operation, the upper anvil 68' and the upper gripper '70 are swung into the position shown in Fig. it), again freeing the upper folded edge 52; whereupon, the anvil returns to its backing position in front of the folded edge, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, after which the above described cycle of operation is repeated in again folding an upper edge moving the sheet down. forming another bottom fold 52" and extending the sheet upwardly to form a next successive top fold. The control mechanism governing the size of the stacks or, in other words, the number of folded towels in each stack 92, is controlled by the chain 103 and the trip lug 104 thereon and, in this connection, it

will be understood that the length of the chain 103 will govern the size of each stack 92.

It will appear from a consideration of Fig. 3 of the drawing that a link 74' couples the rear or second lever 60 with the arm 70 for actuation of the upper gripper 70. in like manner, a link 75' couples the first lever 61 with the arm 71' for actuation of the lower gripper 71.

In considering the control mechanism 103, 104, 107 and 108, it will be apparent that the chain sprocket of this mechanism is actuated by a shaft 116 having a worm wheel 117 at one end and operating from a worm 118 on the end of the shaft 34, as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. In this connection, it is again repeated that the illustrations in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing are purely diagrammatic to clearly illustrate the various mechanisms without concern as to the exact or specific relationships of the various parts one with respect to the other, nor for proportionate sizes.

Turning now to Fig. 3 of the drawing, it will appear that the supplemental frame 22a includes guide rods 119, on which the carriage 65 is vertically movable. It will also be understood that only single grippers 70 and 71 are illustrated. However, a plurality of such grippers can be employed and spaced longitudinally of the shafts 68 and 69.

In the continued operation of the machine, the folded towels or stacks of towels will collect upon the table 84 between the side plates, part of which are shown at 84', when the hacker 85 reaches the end of its movement as indicated in Fig. l of the drawing or, prior thereto, all or part of the stacks can be removed. When this is done, the backing 85 will move to the left and the weight 86 will travel downwardly on the runway 87.

Considering Fig. la of the drawing, it will appear that the shaft 51 is supported on suitable air cylinder pistons, one of which is shown at 120. These are employed in order to lift the heavy roll to free it for rotation. At 121 is shown one of a pair of arms pivoted, as seen at 122, for supporting a rough surfaced friction roller 123 against the surface of the roll of paper 52 to constantly maintain the same under slight tension to avoid unravelling. To further assist in this operation, a lever 124 is pivoted at the upper end of one of the arms and has a finger 125 frictionally engaging an extension of the roller 123, so as to check the roller 123 from free rotation and coupled with the lever 124 is a chain 126 which passes over a sprocket 127 on a vertical support 128 and to the end of the chain is secured a Weight 129 to maintain the constant friction on the paper roll as the size of the roll diminishes.

The lever support of the rollers 50, as is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, provides movement of said rollers 50 to control positioning of the sheet with respect to the folding and stacking mechanism.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, I have diagrammatically shown at 130 a hand wheel on the shaft 21, by means of which the machine can be manually operated at any time, as and when desired.

Considering Fig. 3 of the drawing, it will appear that the carriage 65 comprises similar side yokes 131 joined at their upper ends by crossrods 132 which support the upper hold-down slides 66. Similar supports, not shown, are provided for the lower hold-down slides, the latter being diagrammatically shown in Figs. 4 to 10, inclusive.

From a standpoint of description, the machine may be said to comprise a sheet delivery and forming mechanism and a sheet folding and stacking mechanism with controls automatically actuated to intermittently sever predetermined folded sheets where slit and to simultaneously extend the flags or flaps to guide in the removal of stacks or bundles of towels from the table for packaging or other purposes.

For purposes of description, the rollers 46, 47, 48 and 49 may be said to comprise the feed and forming mechanism of the machine; whereas, the carriage 65 and the associated parts, such for example as the anvil and gripper units, including the receiving table and its backing may be said to comprise the folding and stacking mechanism of the machine. In like manner, the several gears for actuating the forward and forming mechanism, including the cutter or slicer, when used, can be generally referred to as a gear train, the gear train being driven from the cam shaft of the machine, the latter being directly driven from the drive shaft. Further, the chain 103, together with the bypass valves 107 and 108 may be said to comprise the stack size controlling mechanism of the machine.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame. a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame, a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end portion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel forming strip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units arranged on relatively fixed axes and a carriage movable betwen said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers arranged intermediate and in alinement with said slides, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said cams for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers for severing the strip at intervals in forming successive stacks, and said table including a yieldable backing plate for support of said stacks of towels and maintaining the towel strip in engagement with said holddown slides.

2. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame, a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame. a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end porlion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel forming strip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units arranged on relatively fixed axes and a carriage movable between said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers arranged intermediate and in alinement with said slides, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said earns for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers for severing the strip at intervals in forming successive stacks, said table including a yicldable backing plate for support of said stacks of towels and maintaining the towel strip in engagement with said holddown slides, and predetermined links and levers reversing said folding guide rollers at limits of upward and downward movement of said carriage in forming the folds in said towel strip.

3. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame, a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame, a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end portion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel forming stnip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units and a carriage movable between said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said cams for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers for severing the strip at inter vals in forming successive stacks, said table including a yieldable backing plate for support of said stacks of towels, predetermined links and levers reversing said folding guide rollers at limits of upward and downward movement of said carriage in forming the folds in said towel strip, an automatically actuated stack size controlling mechanism for intermittently forming slits in said strip, and means in operative engagement with said carriage for timely imparting additional movement to the carriage and said cutting knives to sever the strip at said slits.

4. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame, a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame, a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end portion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel forming strip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units and a carriage movable between said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said cams for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers for severing the strip at intervals in forming successive stacks, said table including a yieldable backing plate for support of said stacks of towels. predetermined links and levers reversing said folding guide rollers at limits of upward and downward movement of said carriage in forming the folds in said towel strips, an automatically actuated stack size controlling mechanism for intermittently forming slits in said strip, means in operative engagement with said carriage for timely imparting additional movement to the carriage and said cutting knives to sever the strip at said slits, said slitting operation forming flags on the strip, and said flags extending upwardly at the severed portions of the strip in defining individual stacks in the series of stacks collected on said table.

5. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame, a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame, a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end portion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel forming strip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units and a carriage movable between said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said cams for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, said table including a yieldable backing plate for support of said stacks of towels, predetermined links and levers reversing said folding guide rollers at limits of upward and downward movement of said carriage in forming the folds in said towel strip, an automatically actuated stack size controlling mechanism for intermittently forming slits in said strip and for timely imparting additional movement to the carriage to sever the strip at said slits, one pair of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism comprising an anvil and a slitting knife movable toward and from said anvil, and said slitting knife being actuated by said stack size control mechanism.

6. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame, a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame, a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end portion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel forming strip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units and a carriage movable between said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said cams for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, said table including a yieldable backing plate for support of said stacks of towels, predetermined links and levers reversing said folding guide rollers at limits of upward and downward movement of said carriage in forming the folds in said towel strip, an automatically actuated stack size controlling mechanism for intermittently forming slits in said strip and for timely imparting additional movement to the carriage to sever the strip at said slits, one pair of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism comprising an anvil and a slitting knife movable toward and from said anvil, said slitting knife being actuated by said stack size control mechanism, and said stack size control mechanism being in direct operative engagement with said driven shaft.

7. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame, a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame, a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end portion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel form ing strip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units and a carriage movable between said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said cams for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, said table including a yieldable backing plate for support of said stack of towels, predetermined links and levers reversing said folding guide rollers at limits of upward and downward movement of said carriage in forming the folds in said towel strip, an automatically actuated stack size controlling mechanism for intermittently forming slits in said strip and for timely imparting additional movement to the carrage to sever the strip at said slits, one pair of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism comprising an anvil and a slitting knife movable toward and from said anvil, said slitting knife being actuated by said stack size con-- trol mechanism, said stack size control mechanism being in direct operative engagement with said driven shaft, and means for slitting the strip prior to passing between said pairs of feed and forming rollers.

8. A machine for producing folded stacked towels, said machine comprising a frame, a feed and forming mechanism in the upper portion of one end of the frame, a folding and stacking mechanism at the other end portion of the frame, a drive shaft in the frame, a motor for actuating said shaft through a clutch mechanism, a cam shaft directly driven from the drive shaft, cams on said cam shaft, a driven shaft actuated from said cam shaft, means comprising a gear train actuated by said driven shaft for operating two pairs of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism, means for delivering a towel forming strip between said pairs of rollers, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising upper and lower anvil and gripper units and a carriage movable between said units, said carriage including towel strip hold-down slides and a pair of folding guide rollers, between which the towel strip passes, means comprising links and levers in operative engagement with said cams for actuating said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers in forming a successive series of folded towels arranged in stacks on a receiving table of said folding and stacking mechanism, said table including a yieldable backing plate for support of said stacks of towels, predetermined links and levers reversing said folding guide rollers at limits of upward and downward movement of said carriage in forming the folds in said towel strip, an automatically actuated stack size controlling mechanism for intermittently forming slits in said strip and for timely imparting additional movement to the carriage to sever the strip at said slits, one pair of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism comprising an anvil and a slitting knife movable toward and from said anvil, said slitting knife being actuated by said stack size control mechanism, said stack size control mechanism being in direct operative engagement with said driven shaft, and the other pair of rollers of said feed and forming mechanism including means for intermittently characterizing the towel strip.

9. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism, said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, means comprising carns on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, and means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size control mechanism, for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks collected on said table.

it). An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism, said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable hacking movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plu ality of stacks on said table, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size control mechanism. for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks collected on said table, and said slitting means providing an offset cut in the strip to form means on each stack to designate groupings of stacks collected on said table,

ll. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism. said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage. said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size control mechanism, for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the lift size of stacks collected on said table, said slitting means feed and forming mechanism for dividing the strip said table, and means in operative engagement with said each stack to designate groupings of stacks collected on providing an offset cut in the strip to form means on longitudinally.

12. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism, said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size con trol mechanism, for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks collected on said table, said slitting means providing an offset cut in the strip to form means on each stack to designate groupings of stacks collected on said table, and said carriage including hold-down slides for supporting the strip against the action of said yieldable backing in the reciprocating movement of the carriage between said anvil and gripper units.

13. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism, said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size control mechanism, for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks collected on said table, said slitting means providing an offset cut in the strip to form means on each stack to designate groupings of stacks collected on said table, said carriage including hold-down slides for supporting the strip against the action of said yieldable backing in the reciprocating movement of the carriage between said anvil and gripper units, the anvil and gripper units each comprising movable anvils and grippers, the anvils backing up the strip adjacent the 13 folds therein, and said grippers supporting and holding the strip, where folded, upon said anvils.

14. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism, said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size control mechanism, for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks collected on said table, said slitting means providing an offset cut in the strip to form means on each stack to designate groupings of stacks collected on said table, said carriage including hold-down slides for supporting the strip against the action of said yieldable backing in the reciprocating movement of the carriage between said anvil and gripper units, the anvil and gripper units each comprising movable anvils and grippers, the anvils backing up the strip adjacent the folds therein, said grippers supporting and holding the strip, where folded, upon said anvils, and the movement of the anvils being controlled to position the anvils rearwardly of each successive fold formed in the strip.

15. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism, said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding Wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size control mechanism, for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks collected on said table, said slitting means providing an offset cut in the strip to form means on each stack to designate groupings of stacks collected on said table, said carriage including hold-down slides for supporting the strip against the action of said yieldable backing in the reciprocating movement of the carriage between said anvil and gripper units, the anvil and gripper units each comprising movable anvils and grippers, the anvils backing up the strip adjacent the folds therein, said grippers supporting and holding the strip, where folded, upon said anvils, the movement of the anvils being controlled to position the anvils rearwardly of each successive fold formed in the strip, said strip being delivered to the feed and forming mechanism from a supply roll, and means maintaining a constant tension on said roll for maintaining the strip taut in its delivery to the feed rollers.

16. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size controlling mechanism, said feed and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals, the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism, means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with pivotal anvil and gripper units at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of reversible folding guide rollers for folding the strip at limits of travel of said carriage, a table, cutting knives associated with said folding wide rollers upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers, means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size con trol mechanism, for extending movement of the carriage in one direction in severing said strip by said cutting knives where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks collected on said table, said slitting means providing an offset cut in the strip to form means on each stack to designate groupings of stacks collected on said table, said carriage including hold down slides for sup porting the strip against the action of said yieldable backing in the reciprocating movement of the carriage between said anvil and gripper units, the anvil and gripper units each comprising movable anvils and grippers, the anvils backing up the strip adjacent the folds therein, said grippers supporting and holding the strip, where folded, upon said anvils, the movement of the anvils being controlled to position the anvils rearwardly of each successive fold formed in the strip, said strip being delivered to the feed and forming mechanism from a supply roll, means maintaining a constant tension on said roll for maintaining the strip taut in its delivery to the feed rollers, and a pair of idler rollers controlling delivery of the strip to said folding and stacking mechanism.

l7, A strip folding and stacking apparatus of the character described, comprising strip folding means for folding a strip upon itself in forming stacks of said strip on a table with the folds at upper and lower edges of the stacks, strip feeding and forming means controlling delivery of the strip to said folding and stacking means, said forming means including means for intermittently slitting said strip, said folding and stacking means comprising reversely folding guide rollers movable along said strip, hold-down slides arranged above and below and in alinerncnt with said rollers and n yielduble backing maintaining said strip in engagement with said slides, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers, and means to actuate said rollers for severing the strip by said cutting knives, Where slit, in dividing the stacked strip into predetermined stack sizes collected on said table.

l8. A strip folding and stacking apparatus of the character described, comprising strip folding means for folding a strip upon itself in forming stacks of said strip on a table with the folds at upper and lower edges of the stacks, strip feeding and forming means controlling clelivery of the strip to said folding and stacking means, said forming means including means for intermittently slitting said strip, said folding and stacking means comprising reversely folding guide rollers movable along said strip, hold-down slides arranged above and below and in alinement with said rollers and a yieldable backing maintaining said strip in engagement with said slides, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers, means to actuate said rollers for severing the strip by said cutting knives, where slit. in dividing the stacked strip into predetermined stack sizes collected on said table. and said slitting means cutting the strip to form raised means. indicating divisions between the stacks collected on said table.

19. A strip folding and stacking apparatus of the character described, comprising strip folding means for folding a strip upon itself in forming stacks of said strip on a table with the folds at upper and lower edges of the stacks, strip feeding and forming means controlling delivery of the strip to said folding and stacking means, said forming means including means for intermittently slitting said strip, said folding and stacking means cornprising reversely folding guide rollers movable along said strip, hold-down slides arranged above and below and in alinement with said rollers and a yieldable backing maintaining said strip in engagement with said slides, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers, means to actuate said rollers for severing the strip by said cutting knives, where slit, in dividing the stacked strip into predetermined stack sizes collected on said table, said slitting means cutting the strip to form raised means, indicating divisions between the stacks collected on said table, and automatically actuated means controlling operation of the strip slitting means and the means for severing the strip, where slit.

20. A strip folding and stacking apparatus of the character described, comprising strip folding means for folding a strip upon itself in forming stacks of said strip on a table with the folds at upper and lower edges of the stacks. strip feeding and forming means controlling delivery of the strip to said folding and stacking means, said forming means including means for intermittently slitting said strip. said folding and stacking means comprising reversely folding guide rollers movable along said strip. holddown slides arranged above and below and in alinement with said rollers and a yieldable backing maintaining said strip in engagement with said slides, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers, means to actuate said rollers for severing the strip by said cutting knives, where slit, in dividing the stacked strip into predetermined stack sizes collected on said table. said slitting means cutting the strip to form raised means, indicating divisions between the stacks collected on said table, automatically actuated means controlling operation of the strip slitting means and the means for severing the strip, where slit, and means for severing the strip longitudinally into independent workpiece strips.

21. A strip folding and stacking apparatus of the character described, comprising strip folding means for folding a strip upon itself in forming stacks of said strip on a table with the folds at upper and lower edges of the stacks, strip feeding and forming means controlling delivery of the strip to said folding and stacking means, said forming means including means for intermittently slitting said strip, said folding and stacking means comprising reversely folding guide rollers movable along said strip, hold-down slides arranged above and below and in alinement with said rollers and a yieldable backing maintaining said strip in engagement with. said slides, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers, means to actuate said rollers for severing the strip by said cutting knives, where slit, in dividing the stacked strip into predetermined stack sizes collected on said table, said slitting means cutting the strip to form raised means, indicating divisions between the stacks collected on said table, automatically actuated means controlling operation of the strip slitting means and the means for severing the strip, where slit, means for severing the strip longitudinally into independent workpiece strips, and said folding and stacking means including anvil and gripper units positioned at approximate limits of travel of said folding guide rollers.

22. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a strip feeding and forming mechanism, a folding and stacking mechanism and a stack size control mechanism, said feeding and forming mechanism comprising two pairs of rollers, one pair of rollers having means for characterizing the strip at predetermined intervals. the other pair of rollers having slitting means intermittently actuated by said stack size control mechanism. means comprising a driven cam shaft for actuating the first and third named mechanism, said folding and stacking mechanism comprising a reciprocating carriage with fixed positioned anvils and grippers at approximate limits of travel of said carriage, said carriage having a pair of folding guide rollers for folding the strip to be gripped by said anvil and gripper units, cutting knives associated with said folding guide rollers, a table upon which the folded sheets are supported, a yieldable backing movable longitudinally of the table for supporting the folded sheets in a plurality of stacks on said table, hold-down slides on said carriage above and below and in alinement with said folding guide rollers for supporting the folded sheets against the action of said yieldable backing, means comprising cams on said cam shaft and a plurality of links and levers controlling operation of said carriage, anvil and gripper units and said folding guide rollers. means in operative engagement with the link and lever for actuating said carriage, actuated by said stack size control mechanism, for extending movement of the car riage in one direction in severing said strip, by said cutting knives, where slit by said slitting means in defining the size of stacks controlled on said table, the means yieldably controlling said backing comprising a gravity actu' ated weight, and a chain coupling the weight with said backing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 924,794 Klein June 15, 1909 1,097,649 Kunzi May 26, 1914 1,182,296 Morden May 9, 1916 1,480,947 Muller Jan. 15, 1924 1,541,201 Wennerblad et al. June 9, 1925 1,832,556 Jensen et al Nov. 17, 1931 1,875,655 Rawson Sept. 6, 1932 2,241,329 Shaffer May 6, 1941 

